2 Coronado students arrested, accused of threatening others

Three days after a gunman killed 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school, two Coronado High School students were arrested Monday after they allegedly threatened students and teachers.

El Paso Independent School District Police Chief Victor Araiza said two boys were arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threats after officers conducted an investigation at the school.

"There was a threat of violence towards students and staff at the school," Araiza said.

The students' names were not released because they are minors, ages 15 and 16. Both are detained in the El Paso County Juvenile Detention Center.

Araiza said a student overheard the threat and reported it to campus administrators, who then notified an officer on campus.

"It was made in a manner that parties were meant to hear it," Araiza said. "It was a very public threat and a violent threat."

The Texas Penal Code defines a terroristic threat as when a person threatens to commit violence to any person or property. Making such a threat is a Class B misdemeanor.

The case has been turned over to the El Paso County Attorney's Office, which will determine whether to pursue filing charges.

Araiza said the arrests at Coronado were not based on what happened in Connecticut last week, but rather on district policy that violence is not tolerated.

"It was serious enough that we needed to pursue charges," Araiza said. "This wasn't just because of the recent shootings in Connecticut; this would have been significant enough even if those shootings never occurred."

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Interim Superintendent Vernon Butler told reporters Tuesday that he still needed to be briefed on the specifics of what happened, but he said any threats of violence will be taken seriously.

Butler said the school district will follow steps in the student code of conduct, and after the district determines what happened, officials will act accordingly.

"We're here to educate our students, and we want to be sure that they're being educated in a very safe environment," Butler said.

Aaron Bracamontes may be reached at abracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6156. Follow him on Twitter @AaronBrac.Times reporter Zahira Torres contributed to this report.